Embalmer&#39;s arm positioning and retaining device



y 6, 1940. J. w. BRASURE 2,207,968

EMBALMERS ARM POSITIONING AND RETAINING DEVICE Filed March 11, 1938 //v1//v To? John W Erasure OW TOR/VEY Patented July 16, 1940 I I 2 Claims. When an embalmer is preparing a body for burial, it 'is very desirable that the arms and hands be brought to a natural position with the elbows somewhat raised and lying against the sides of. the body and with the hands folded over 1 the abdomen and that the members be retained in such position for a desired period of time after the embalming operation has been carriedout; In the absence of the foregoing precautions, the

arms and handsassume unnatural positions and.

when rigor mortis has once set in, itis impossiblev to bring them into a permanentlynaturalposie tion.

. The principal object of my invention, there-'- 2 fore, is the provision of a device which will bring the arms and hands of a deceasedipersoninto natural positions and retain the-*zsame'in. such.

positions. v I

A further object of my invention v isa device of the foregoing character which 'is simple :in construction and inexpensive to make and which is at the' same time easy to manipulate and effective. I

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a device which is sanitary and which may readily be sterilized Other objects of my invention will appear in the specification and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which I have illustrated a preferred embodiment thereof and in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a device embodye ing my invention andillustrating one of the arm engaging members in full lines in one position and in dotted lines in a different position;

Fig. 2 is a side view of theclamping element;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, front elevation partially in section illustrating the clamping element in a position where it is slidable along the main bar or wire of the device; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the clamping element tilted to a clamping position.

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the. drawing.

Referring to the drawing, I is a first bar or wire preferably formed of metal and curved so as to conform more or less to the contour of the human body, the bar being of sufficientv length to extend across a body of usual proportions.

The bar I0 is free at one end II and the opposite end thereof is curved as at I2 to engage the arm of a deceased person. The free end II of.

EMBALMERS ARM POSITIONING AND I RETAINING DEVICE John w. Erasure, Delmar, N. Y. Application March 11, 1938, Serial No. 195.352

with the bar I5 which is attached thereto, is slid- PATENT FF CE? the bar is preferably bent upwardly as at I3 and each end of the bar is preferablyprovidedwith a cushioning member I4 which may'conveniently be formed of, a section of rubber tubingplaced on the respective ends of the bar to lation of the body. .5 A second bar I5 is likewise-curved at itsouter end as at l6 and is adapted to engage the other arm of a deceased person, the opposite ;end; ,of: the bar I5 being attached to a clamping platedt. The arm engaging portion'of the bar I5 is pref; erably more sharply curved than the portion thereof which is attached to the clamping plate l8. In the embodiment of my invention illuspreventz mutt-iv 5 trated the inner end of the bar I5 is threaded and passes through an-opening in the clamping plate to which it may be secured by nuts I9 at tached to the threaded end of the bar I 5, against opposite sides of the clamping plate although-it will be understood that said element .may be.;se-

cured to the bar in any desired manner simply threading the end of. the bar thereto, by welding, or the like.

The clamping plate I8 is provided with an opening in which the bar I0 is received and along which it is slidable. The opening 20 is preferably substantially cylindrical as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, and when the clamping element is in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, it, together able along the bar I 0, and when tilted to the positionillustrated in Fig. 4 in response to a pull exerted on the bar I5 it grips the bar I 0 and locks the two bars against relative spreading movemerit. The free end of the bar I6 is likewise preferably provided with a cushioning member M.

The bar II), as well as the bar I5, is preferably comparatively small' and flexible, and may readfly be bent to conform in contour to that of a ibody across which it may extend and otherwise to meet the conditions under which it may be i. c V

The device embodying my invention is manipulated in the following manner: the arm engaging element l2 of the first bar is placed around one arm of the corpse, while the main portion of the bar I 0 is laid across the chest and the curved portion I6 of the second bar is placed in a position to engage the'second arm of the corpse.

, I'he clamping plate I8 is then slid along the first (bar III to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 until the curved portion of the second bar brings the second arm into the desired position at which time a force will be exerted by the second arm against the second bar I5 in a direction away from the The first bar l may be made of sufficient length to span a body of the largest size that would in ordinary practice be encountered, and may, for

example, be 26 inches in length although it will, of course, be understood that I am not limited to any specific dimensions. By moving the second arm l5 along the first to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 1, the arms may be spaced not more than 6 inches or even less, if desired, and may be caused to engage the arms of an infant and properly position the same.

The bent end 13 of the main bar It ordinarily serves as a stop to prevent accidental removal of the clamping plate I8 and the associated arm I5 from the main bar HI. Atthe same time, it serves to extend considerably the span of the arm engaging portions of the'bars ill and I5 since, by -moving the clamping plate 98 to the right as viewed in Fig. I to a position where it engages the bent portion between the main bar In and the bent end I3, the bar 15 may be tilted outwardly about the said bent portion as a pivot and the space between the two arm engaging portions l2 and I6 very considerably increased. The end I3 of the bar I!) is bent away from the main portion thereof at such an angle as to prevent the clamping element from riding from the bent end.

It will be obvious that the arm engaging portions of my device engage the arms where there is little likelihood of the device being fouled because of leakage from the body, and even should it be fouled it is readily cleansed and sterilized. While I have described my invention in its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that {the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes Within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention in its broadest as- .pects.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the. character described, a' V first bar one end of which is shaped to engage an arm of adeceased person and of sufficient length to extend across the body of such person, a second bar shorter than said first bar and shaped to'engage the other arm of said person,

said second bar being provided with a clamping element having an opening in whichsaid first bar is received whereby said second bar may be freely moved along said first bar in one direc- 'tion but is clamped thereto when a force is ex erted against the curved portion of said second bar in a direction away from the curved end ofsaid first bar.

2. In a device of the character described, a first bar one end of which is shaped to engage an arm of a deceased person'and of suflioient length to extend across the body of such person, a clamp-r ing element comprising a clamping plate having an opening in which said first bar is receivable and along which it is slidable and a secondbar mounted upon and detachable from said clamping plate and shaped to engage the other arm of such person, whereby'said clamping element is freefly movable along said first bar but is clamp'ed thereto when a force is exerted against the curved yportion offsaid secondbar 'in a direction away from the curved end of'said first bar.

- JOHN W. 'BRASURE. 

